Verse 6 The--elders; the leading and influential men. That the assembly was numerous, is shown by allusions in Acts 15:12,22,23. Perhaps these expressions, especially that in Acts 15:23, where the brethren particularly are mentioned, imply that the disciples generally were convened; as there is no evidence that the body of believers was very large at this time in Jerusalem, for a very considerable proportion of the early converts were residents of other places; and of those who belonged to the city, the persecution had driven many away. The account, however, leaves the constitution of the council uncertain, and has led, consequently, to eager discussion between those advocates of the different systems of ecclesiastical polity, who feel bound to discover models in the Acts for the institutions and customs which they find prevailing in their respective communions.